1. Technical Field of the Invention
This invention pertains to computer user interfaces. More particularly, it relates to placing textual and graphical information in the borders of window frames.
2. Background Art
Present implementations of frames include an optional frame border, which may be a border line or a graphic having the appearance of a three dimensional border.
In Lotus Domino, framesets provide a way for designers to display several pages at the same time. A frame contains one page; a frameset is a collection of pages. Page designers can create links between frames. A major advantage of framesets is the ability to leave one page constant as users view or link to other pages.
The hyper text markup language (HTML) defined in HTML 4.0 in World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Document Object Model (DOM) Level 1 at www.w3.org also provides for frameset elements containing one or more frames. HTML provides the following attributes for borders: borderColor for setting or retrieving the border color of an object; frameBorder for setting or retrieving whether to display a border for a frame; border, borderBottom, borderBottomColor, borderBottomStyle, borderBottomWidth, borderColor, borderLeft, borderLeftColor, borderWidth, and so forth for setting various characteristics of borders. The syntax for accessing the border style of a frame object is:sBordervalue document.all.oFrame.style.border;
A frameset in HTML provides properties and style attributes including the following: border, for setting or retrieving the space between frames; borderColor, for setting or retrieving the color of the frame object; and borderBottom, borderLeft, borderRight, and borderTop for setting or retrieving the properties of the border.
In HTML, a frameset element is a container for the frame element. An HTML document can contain either the frameset element or the body element. If a user opens a web folder inside a frame and then clicks something in the web folder, the file or folder that the user clicks takes over the entire window. For file types that the browser cannot host, such as .txt files, a separate window in the application host application is opened.
Heretofore, neither Java, HTML nor Lotus Notes has provided for text or graphics images (icons) in frame borders.
These borders provided by Java, Domino, HTML and so forth, present to the user no information indicating that the frame within the border is clickable or draggable, or that the frame even exists. The user, not knowing such, may not open the frame when it would be desirable or advantageous to do so. Applications rely on the users recognizing that there is a frame border in the display, and that it will respond to dragging, clicking or double clicking. Further, there is no hint as to the data which is contained within the frame that will be displayed or the function that will be performed upon dragging or clicking.
There is, therefore, a need in the art for a way to present to the user some indication that the frame within the border is or is not draggable or clickable and the direction in which the frame will go when clicked.
Heretofore the border has not been a hotspot which will respond to some user action, such as being dragged or clicked, and it has been necessary to create a new page in juxtaposition to the frame border in order to provide informational text. The creation of a separate frame to contain the document frame has been required to provide a messages to the user about the content or function of the document frame.
It is an object of the invention to provide an improved system and method for providing information to a computer user regarding the identity and function of frames.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a system and method for placing text and graphic information in frame borders.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a system and method for informing a computer user by way of text and/or graphics in frame borders as to the identity and function of the frame.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a system and method for creating within a frame border a visually apparent hot spot upon which a user may click for opening, launching, sizing and positioning a data source or function contained within a frame.